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Monday, November 24, 2014

The LR Countdown and email excitement!

Today was the longest Monday in the history of long Mondays. I required a lot of coffee to make it through the day. Thankfully I didn't have too much...

I did my sit up challenge this morning before work. I completed five sets of 25 sit ups (it's easier for me to break down the session into manageable sets...for Day 24 I was supposed to complete a minimum of 115 sit ups, so a total of 125 isn't bad). For the rest of November I'm going to aim at adding an additional set every couple of days or so, but I'll need a new approach to my 30 Day Challenge for December. I'm planning on restarting the sit-up challenge and maybe incorporating some wall sits in there as well. Thoughts?

My legs felt good today. I have some mild soreness but overall I think the hot/cold soak and compression leg sleeves really helped in the whole recovery process. I also wore knee-high socks today which provided some mild compression for my lower legs :)

Can you believe the year is almost over?? Below are a few of the major events I'm looking forward to for the rest of the year (as measured by Long Runs)...Zero LRs before Thanksgiving
One LR before the Palm Beach half (my third and final half marathon for this year)Two LRs before my Dad's birthday! (December 11th)Three LRs before my 2 year anniversary at work (which means extra special stuff will happen!...or so they tell me)Four LRs before Christmas (this is probably the most exciting news ever! I can't wait to go home!!)Five LRs left in 2014 (I'm excited to see what 2015 will bring)

I'm trying to come up with a safe training plan for 2015. As you may know, I adjust my training plan as needed to incorporate safer mileage incremental increases and to accommodate for changes in my work schedule. For 2015 I will be sticking to a formal plan that's well thought out, not complicated, and not too intense (so it doesn't put me at risk for injury) but intense enough (so that I push myself safely to get stronger). So I'm trying to get a general consensus on what other runners are doing (or have done) to prepare for their full marathon(s). Please leave a comment with your answer to the following questions (it will be greatly appreciated)...1. What is your longest LR during your training cycle? (some people don't go past 20 miles, others go up to the full 26 or more)2. How many LRs (20 miles or greater) do you run during your training?3. How far apart are these LRs?4. How many weeks before your marathon is your longest LR?

On a more exciting note, I received an absolutely fabulous amazingly wonderful email from my boss today...

Never before have I felt so excited to work in an area that is considered to be "non-essential". I'm so happy that I'm off on the Thursdays and Fridays of the holiday weeks!!! However, the term "non-essential" is kind of insulting isn't it? They need to come up with a better phrase/term like "totally awesome departments that are vitally important but can take the days off since we have other people to cover life threatening emergencies"...or you know, something like that.

2 comments:

1. What is your longest LR during your training cycle? (some people don't go past 20 miles, others go up to the full 26 or more)

2. How many LRs (20 miles or greater) do you run during your training?

I did one 20-miler although the Hanson's method recommends only going up to 16 miles and others suggest 26 or more like you mentioned. I think this really has to be dictated by the pace at which you plan to run the marathon. Running a 20-miler took me almost five whole hours. Having to do multiple training runs at 5 hours (or longer) would have put me at risk for injury and wasn't necessary. Basically, once you can run for 2.5 hours you don't gain any more endurance. The rest is all mental and getting use to "time on feet."

This is a really good article to read that explains the science behind long runs:http://runnersconnect.net/coach-corner/are-you-putting-too-much-emphasis-on-the-long-run-as-part-of-your-marathon-training

3. How far apart are these LRs?

My coach had me alternate each weekend between a long, easy run and a medium-long run with a fast finish. So, for example a monthly training schedule for me might look like this:

Saturday: 15 miles @ easy pace

Next Sat: 13 miles, 10 @ easy pace, 3 @ fast finish pace

Third Sat: 17 miles @ easy pace

Fourth Sat: 14 miles, 11 @ easy pace, 3 @ fast finish pace

4. How many weeks before your marathon is your longest LR?

My 20-miler was four weeks before my marathon. Following the 20-miler I did another medium-long run with fast finish (13 miles I think) and then two weeks of taper where my long runs never exceeded 10 miles and all were easy.

Thanks Kristina!!!! Yeah I don't think the JG plan (that has a 26 miler training run) is going to work for me. I may do more than one 20 miler though. Thank you for all the great info! I'm going to incorporate it into my ever developing training plan! :)P.S. Palm Beach is in two weeks!!!! Are you excited???